Airports authority seeks $8.4M from pair of firms

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This article was published 05/01/2016 (3598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Airports Authority has gone to the courts once more to recoup expenses from the construction of its airport terminal building that opened in the fall of 2011.

In a new statement of claim filed in late December, the WAA is seeking $6.14 million from general contractor EllisDon Corp. for almost two dozen specific issues.

It’s also looking for $2.3 million from Stantec Architecture Ltd. for additional costs incurred related to design issues for some underground piping.

These claims are the latest in a number of filings the WAA has made regarding the cost of construction, some of them filed before the award-winning airport terminal building opened.

The WAA and EllisDon butted heads in court over additional time and expense at the outset of construction when there were slope-stabilization issues in the initial excavation work on the new building.

That matter took a couple of years and a couple of appeals for the courts to eventually rule in favour of EllisDon. However, arbitration and negotiation over the final settlement amount the WAA will have to pay are ongoing.

In its latest claim, the WAA says EllisDon “failed, refused or neglected to perform various work at the airport ATB (terminal building) included in its scope under the contract.”

There are several items involved in the claim, including: cleanup of the ATB prior to commissioning ($62,703); supply of a building-management system at the parkade that integrates with the ATB ($50,000); supply and installation of a dry sprinkler system in various locations ($48,522); and 14 other similarly sized items that total $341,405.

The WAA is also asking EllisDon to pay $4.376 million to fix various deficiencies related to the elevated roadway, $1.435 million related to warranty and commissioning work and $318,939 for remediation work required to stabilized piles built for a crane pad that were insufficient to support the weight of the crane.

With regard to the underground piping, EllisDon has previously claimed damages against the WAA alleging there were design flaws.

In the latest claim the WAA states in the event EllisDon’s claim regarding the piping is established then the WAA claims there was a breach by Stantec on the “duty of care” agreement Stantec signed with the WAA.

A spokesperson for EllisDon was not available to comment.

Barry Rempel, CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority said, the latest claims were the result of expenses that arose after the terminal building was opened.

He said, “These were all things we found after the initial claim.”

He said it likely won’t be until 2018 before all the costs from the legal issues are unwound.

The airport expansion, including a new terminal, parkade, utility building and groundwork, cost about $585 million.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca